Photonic metamaterials are man-made structures composed of tailored micro- or nanostructured metallodielectric subwavelength building blocks. This deceptively simple yet powerful concept allows the realization of many new and unusual optical properties, such as magnetism at optical frequencies, negative refractive index, large positive refractive index, zero reflection through impedance matching, perfect absorption, giant circular dichroism and enhanced nonlinear optical properties. Possible applications of metamaterials include ultrahigh-resolution imaging systems, compact polarization optics and cloaking devices. This Review describes recent progress in the fabrication of three-dimensional metamaterial structures and discusses some of the remaining challenges.

Past achievements and future challenges in the development of three-dimensional photonic metamaterials

Resonant plasmonic and metamaterial structures allow for control of fundamental optical processes such as absorption, emission and refraction at the nanoscale. Considerable recent research has focused on energy absorption processes, and plasmonic nanostructures have been shown to enhance the performance of photovoltaic and thermophotovoltaic cells. Although reducing metallic losses is a widely sought goal in nanophotonics, the design of nanostructured 'black' super absorbers from materials comprising only lossless dielectric materials and highly reflective noble metals represents a new research direction. Here we demonstrate an ultrathin (260 nm) plasmonic super absorber consisting of a metal–insulator–metal stack with a nanostructured top silver film composed of crossed trapezoidal arrays. Our super absorber yields broadband and polarization-independent resonant light absorption over the entire visible spectrum (400–700 nm) with an average measured absorption of 0.71 and simulated absorption of 0.85. Proposed nanostructured absorbers open a path to realize ultrathin black metamaterials based on resonant absorption.

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Broadband polarization-independent resonant light absorption using ultrathin plasmonic super absorbers

The advent of negative index materials has spawned extensive research into metamaterials over the past decade. Metamaterials are attractive not only for their exotic electromagnetic properties, but also their promise for applications. A particular branch–the metamaterial perfect absorber (MPA)–has garnered interest due to the fact that it can achieve unity absorptivity of electromagnetic waves. Since its first experimental demonstration in 2008, the MPA has progressed significantly with designs shown across the electromagnetic spectrum, from microwave to optical. In this Progress Report we give an overview of the field and discuss a selection of examples and related applications. The ability of the MPA to exhibit extreme performance flexibility will be discussed and the theory underlying their operation and limitations will be established. Insight is given into what we can expect from this rapidly expanding field and future challenges will be addressed.

https://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/adma.201200674

Metamaterial Electromagnetic Wave Absorbers

Metasurfaces: From microwaves to visible

We present an ultrabroadband thin-film infrared absorber made of sawtoothed anisotropic metamaterial. Absorptivity of higher than 95% at normal incidence is supported in a wide range of frequencies, where the full absorption width at half-maximum is about 86%. Such property is retained well at a very wide range of incident angles too. Light of shorter wavelengths are harvested at upper parts of the sawteeth of smaller widths, while light of longer wavelengths are trapped at lower parts of larger tooth widths. This phenomenon is explained by the slowlight modes in anisotropic metamaterial waveguide. Our study can be applied in the field of designing photovoltaic devices and thermal emitters.

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Ultrabroadband light absorption by a sawtooth anisotropic metamaterial slab

In this Letter we demonstrate, for the first time, selective thermal emitters based on metamaterial perfect absorbers. We experimentally realize a narrow band midinfrared (MIR) thermal emitter. Multiple metamaterial sublattices further permit construction of a dual-band MIR emitter. By performing both emissivity and absorptivity measurements, we find that emissivity and absorptivity agree very well as predicted by Kirchhoff's law of thermal radiation. Our results directly demonstrate the great flexibility of metamaterials for tailoring blackbody emission.

https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/schools/cas_sites/cleanroom/achievements/e045901.pdf

Taming the blackbody with infrared metamaterials as selective thermal emitters.

We demonstrate, for the first time, a spatially dependent metamaterial perfect absorber operating in the infrared regime We achieve an experimental absorption of 97% at a wavelength of 60 microns, and our results agree well with numerical full-wave simulations By using two different metamaterial sublattices we experimentally demonstrate a spatial and frequency varying absorption which may have many relevant applications including hyperspectral sub-sampling imaging

https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/schools/cas_sites/cleanroom/achievements/e207403.pdf

Infrared spatial and frequency selective metamaterial with near-unity absorbance.

We have fabricated HTS dc-SQUID flip-chip sensors with a large area multilayer flux transformers. Different layouts of the flux transformers provide a large variety of magnetometers and planar gradiometers. For the magnetometers a resolution /spl sim/6 fT//spl radic/Hz and the planar gradiometers a resolution of about /spl sim/30 fT/cm./spl radic/Hz were routinely obtained at 77 K. The noise was nearly white down to frequencies of few Hz. The sensors were vacuum-tight encapsulated together with a heater and a feedback coil. This makes the handling of the sensors more reproducible and convenient. Production of the magnetometers and gradiometers in small series was proven.

/pdf/low-noise-hts-dc-squid-flip-chip-magnetometers-and-3zwvaj6cf7.pdf

Low noise HTS dc-SQUID flip-chip magnetometers and gradiometers

Metamaterial absorbers have been demonstrated across much of the electromagnetic spectrum and exhibit both broad and narrow-band absorption for normally incident radiation. Absorption diminishes for increasing angles of incidence and transverse electric polarization falls off much more rapidly than transverse magnetic. We unambiguously demonstrate that broad-angle TM behavior cannot be associated with periodicity, but rather is due to coupling with a surface electromagnetic mode that is both supported by, and well described via the effective optical constants of the metamaterial where we achieve a resonant wavelength that is 19.1 times larger than the unit cell. Experimental results are supported by simulations and we highlight the potential to modify the angular response of absorbers by tailoring the surface wave.

Role of surface electromagnetic waves in metamaterial absorbers.

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates with remendable cross-linked polymeric matrices were fabricated using a modified resin transfer mold (RTM) technique. The healable composite resin, bis-maleimide tetrafuran (2MEP4F), was synthesized by mixing two monomers, furan (4F) and maleimide (2MEP), at elevated temperatures. The fast kinetic rate of the reaction of polymer constituents requires a fast injection of the healable resin into the carbon fiber preform. The polymer viscosity as a function of time and temperature was experimentally quantified in order to optimize the fabrication of the composite material and to guarantee a uniform flow of the resin through the reinforcement. The method was validated by characterizing the thermo-mechanical properties of the polymerized 2MEP4F. Additionally, the thermo-mechanical properties of the remendable CFRP material were studied.

Tatiana Starr

Papers

Taming the blackbody with infrared metamaterials as selective thermal emitters.

Infrared spatial and frequency selective metamaterial with near-unity absorbance.

Low noise HTS dc-SQUID flip-chip magnetometers and gradiometers

Role of surface electromagnetic waves in metamaterial absorbers.

Development and Characterization of Healable Carbon Fiber Composites with a Reversibly Cross Linked Polymer